Eagletarian Blog

We usually don't recap radio interviews here on Eagletarian, but we thought the conversation that WIP's Glen Macnow and Anthony Gargano had with NBC's super analyst, Cris Collinsworth, this week, regarding Donovan McNabb was worthy of some attention.

Collinsworth is among the best analysts out there, despite his candor often rubbing some fans the wrong way.

Collinsworth was asked about McNabb's future and the possibility of the Eagles' turning over the offense to Kevin Kolb. He pointed out that Kolb's most impressive performance actually might have been the much-criticized appearance last year against Baltimore when McNabb was benched for the second half. Collinsworth said Kolb went on the road, against a great defense, with no practice reps and took the offense down the field in a "West Coast, Bill-Walsh style."

"I’m not questioning the talent of Donovan McNabb, I really am not," Collinsworth said. "That guy has done tremendous things in Philadelphia. The question is could Kevin Kolb come in and be close enough to what Donovan is that we can make a deal, with Donovan still in the prime of his career, where we could come up with two No. 1 draft picks.

"Is Kevin Kolb now after 2-3 years in a position to run a true West Coast offense, which they really have not run under Andy Reid yet? I got to think Andy somewhere in the back of his head is thinking what if we really did this West Coast with Kevin Kolb."

Collinsworth said tight end Brent Celek, fullback Leonard Weaver and a more developed LeSean McCoy could be cornerstones of a West Coast system with the Eagles. He said the wide receivers don't exactly fit the mold because of their size.

But, would a team give you two No. 1s for McNabb?

"I think it’s really feasible. I really do," Collinsworth said. "It would take a blockbuster deal, a couple of No. 1s to think about it. [You could get that] I think from certain teams, and I think the Buffalo Bills are right at the top of my list because they are in desperation mode. They have to have something to sell tickets."

However, Collinsworth cautioned, "The easiest thing to do is fall in love with a backup quarterback. You need to be careful about thinking ths grass is greener. The debate is how ready is Kevin Kolb."

Collinsworth called the Eagles' playoff loss to Dallas. He got some attention for a sarcastic jab at the Eagles' unwillingness to run during the broadcast.

"They have to do so much to help their pass protection," he told WIP. "Clearly to me that was the difference in the ballgame. They were running a lot of two-man routes essentially to get Jackson and Maclin down the field. If they ran it a little bit more, I think [that would relieve] some of the pass pressure that is on their protection schemes a little bit because they don’t run it too badly … I don’t know against a great defense like that, if you can get away with playing like that."

NO LONDON FOR EAGLES

Despite all the rumors about the Eagles playing the San Francisco 49ers in London this season, you can forget about making your reservations. Instead, the NFL announced today that the Denver Broncos will face the Niners at Wembley Stadium on Oct. 31. As expected, the game is technically a San Francisco "home game."